Penguins at Canucks
With their early-season troubles now a distant memory, the Pittsburgh Penguins vie for their fifth straight win and eighth in nine outings when they visit the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday. While Pittsburgh is coming off a decisive 4-0 rout of the Maple Leafs in Phil Kessel's return to Toronto on Saturday, Vancouver improved to 3-0-1 in its last four with a 4-1 victory over Philadelphia two nights later.
Ryan Miller rebounded after losing his first five starts at Rogers Arena by stopping 52 of 54 shots in wins over previously unbeaten Montreal and the struggling Flyers. The 35-year-old Miller made 31 saves in a 5-0 home victory over Pittsburgh on Feb. 7, but is just 8-13-3 with a 3.15 goals-against average in 26 career meetings with the Penguins. Miller will see a familiar face in Nick Bonino, who has scored two goals and set up another this season after being traded to Pittsburgh for Brandon Sutter in July. Sutter has seven points (three goals, four assists) with Vancouver, but has been held off the scoresheet in eight of his last 11 games.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), RSN (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (7-4-0): Captain Sidney Crosby is doing his best to keep a level head after failing to record a point in nine of his team's 11 games this season. "You've just got to find a way to bury the chances," Crosby told reporters. "Ultimately, that's on me. I've got to find a way to bury my chances." Marc-Andre Fleury has yielded just two goals in his last three games and is expected to get the nod in Vancouver, where he has won his last four starts.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (6-2-4): Jared McCann has collected a team-leading five goals in his first 10 games and fellow 19-year-old Jake Virtanen tallied versus the Flyers to continue his strong play the season. "This year, I think both McCann and Virtanen have been good from the start," coach Willie Desjardins told Sportsnet 590 The Fan. "They have some inexperience that shows but they have so much potential to work with. I’m lucky that (general manager Jim) Benning and those guys do such a good job scouting players." Daniel Sedin, who scored in his last meeting with Pittsburgh, has a team-leading six assists and nine points this season.
OVERTIME
1. Pittsburgh RW Patric Hornqvist has scored in consecutive contests after failing to find the net in his previous nine.
2. Vancouver has killed off all nine short-handed situations over the last four games.
3. The Penguins have thwarted 23 of their last 24 short-handed situations.